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Posted
On 9/14/2024 at 4:28 PM, Handcruser said:

Cbr500r
Ninja 500
Zx4r
Rs 457
Ninja 650

Anything Honda or Kawasaki is going to be great with reliability and pretty easy on the service intervals. My Eliminator and the Ninja 500 share the 451 engine.  That Aprilla is not going to be reliable. 650 a tad big for a fist bike IMO.  I'd go with one of the first two.  The Zx4r is a lot of bike for a fist time rider as well. 

Posted
Anything Honda or Kawasaki is going to be great with reliability and pretty easy on the service intervals. My Eliminator and the Ninja 500 share the 451 engine.  That Aprilla is not going to be reliable. 650 a tad big for a fist bike IMO.  I'd go with one of the first two.  The Zx4r is a lot of bike for a fist time rider as well. 

The zx-4r is delayed to 56hp instead of the usual 80. It also has lots of features like traction control that are appealing.

But it’s $$$$$$$.
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Posted
49 minutes ago, midtown said:

Anything Honda or Kawasaki is going to be great with reliability and pretty easy on the service intervals. My Eliminator and the Ninja 500 share the 451 engine.  That Aprilla is not going to be reliable. 650 a tad big for a fist bike IMO.  I'd go with one of the first two.  The Zx4r is a lot of bike for a fist time rider as well. 

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  • 7 months later...
Posted (edited)

Jumping back in here.  Been riding about a year now.  Still enjoying it.  Its definitely dangerous out there.  Cars just do not look for motorcycles.  Defensive riding, head on a swivel.  My son just sold his KTM 390 and is headed to Louisiana to pick up a 2006 Ducati 740 or something.  Looks pretty awesome. Kid saves his money workign at Pizza hut to pay for his motorcycle habit

I am about to go ahead with the newest Triumph Trident.  Lots of new features.  Haven't decide if IM keeping my Eliminator esp with the upgrades I did with the slip on exhaust and tidy tail. Still a great bike

At this point as far as gear I have:

2 Shoei helmets.  RF SR and a GT Air 2

3 Riding pants, 3 jackets. 2 boots and a reflective back pack for any night rides related to bike nights but generally I do not ride at night at all

Edited by midtown
Posted
17 hours ago, midtown said:

Jumping back in here.  Been riding about a year now.  Still enjoying it.  Its definitely dangerous out there.  Cars just do not look for motorcycles.  Defensive riding, head on a swivel.  My son just sold his KTM 390 and is headed to Louisiana to pick up a 2006 Ducati 740 or something.  Looks pretty awesome. Kid saves his money workign at Pizza hut to pay for his motorcycle habit

I am about to go ahead with the newest Triumph Trident.  Lots of new features.  Haven't decide if IM keeping my Eliminator esp with the upgrades I did with the slip on exhaust and tidy tail. Still a great bike

At this point as far as gear I have:

2 Shoei helmets.  RF SR and a GT Air 2

3 Riding pants, 3 jackets. 2 boots and a reflective back pack for any night rides related to bike nights but generally I do not ride at night at all

I like the new Trident 660 a lot.  Saw it the first time at the big Triumph event a few months back, where they unveiled the 2025 lineup.  If you're in Austin, AF1 has been such a massive improvement over the last shitty dealership that had Triumphs (and had them taken away by the manufacturer).  If you change your mind and go the modern classic route, it's not too late for the Distinguished Gentleman's ride this year. 

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Posted
On 5/2/2025 at 12:23 PM, midtown said:

My son picked up his 2006 Ducati today in Monroe LA
The shipper should have it here by Tues

Kid works hard to save the money IMG_20250502_115941.jpgIMG_20250502_091325.jpgIMG_20250502_091329.jpg

749/999 is a beautiful bike that is starting to gain the following that it deserves. Congrats to your son on his new bike and hard work!

Posted
On 5/5/2025 at 12:54 AM, AnotherUTFan said:

Just stumbled on this thread. Looking forward to following it.

I just picked this up a few weeks ago and having a ton of fun with it. Loving the DCT.

20250427_152609.thumb.jpg.5bf161b6e0e7ac63818fa702b941134b.jpg

Give us a ride report on the DCT.  Don't know why this hasn't been done up to now on motorcycles.  Really intrigued by the idea of automatic transmission.

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Posted

Honda has been offering the DCT since 2010 or so on a few models.  I wish other manufacturers would do likewise.   It would open up riding to many more people, which is a good thing for all of us.   Triumph kicked ass in 2024 by offering up small displacement bikes and making things easier and more affordable for new riders.  I hope they realize they can double down on that success by coming up with an automatic platform of their own.  BMW has its ASA options on bikes such as their new 1300 GS, and Yamaha is coming out with its Y-AMT system this year.  Harley decided to ride the nostalgia train almost into the ground, but who knows? With what's going on now with their CEO getting the boot and their sales in the toilet, they may decide to finally start offering bikes other than oversized and overpriced machines with dated tech.  Their demographic is aging out of riding by the second, and they forgot to build interest among the younger generations. 

My wife has a 300cc Vespa GTS that she loves riding, and though it can go 90 on the highway if need be and easily keep up with my 1200cc Bonnie, she wants something that won't get blown around so much at higher speeds, especially when the wind is blowing.  Using a clutch has held her back from trying a lot of bikes, but I'm going to get her on a few of the Honda DCT models to see if one will work for her.  I suspect the Rebel 1100 will win out, given the lower seat height, but I'm secretly hoping she goes for the Africa Twin so I can ride it some too. :)  Of course lots of bikes come with quick shifters and auto blippers these days, but that's not quite the same for someone who is either afraid of a clutch or can't use one due to physical limitations. 

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Posted

I agree that any tech that gets more people on bikes the better. Personally I'll always prefer a clutch and clutch lever but I also own a three pedal car. The Trident I'm buying has a quick shifter so half way to auto but it's going to be odd for me to use it.

I just hope manufactures don't phase out clutches bikes like auto manufacturers have

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Posted
51 minutes ago, midtown said:

I agree that any tech that gets more people on bikes the better. Personally I'll always prefer a clutch and clutch lever but I also own a three pedal car. The Trident I'm buying has a quick shifter so half way to auto but it's going to be odd for me to use it.

I just hope manufactures don't phase out clutches bikes like auto manufacturers have

I don't think there is any risk of that, at least not in our lifetimes.

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